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Paige glared at him.

“Just do it. Stop being a fraidy-cat.”

“Sorry I’m afraid of being sliced in half.”

“Leave me here,” the pixie shouted. “I do not want to be sliced in half.”

“Toss him over before you run for it. Don’t want him dragging you down.”

Paige blew out a long breath and nodded. She pulled the strap over her head and swung the carrier back and forth before she tossed it.

The axe let loose, swinging across and striking the edge of the carrier, sending it spiraling through the air.

Dewey let it smack onto the floor before he waved Paige toward him. “Now you.”

“You could have caught me, you stupid jac–“

“That’s enough,” Dewey shouted. “Come on, Paige. Run.”

Paige backed up a few steps, crouching into a runner’s lunge and eyeing the hall ahead of her. “Move out of my way.”

“Okay,” Dewey said, flitting to the wall, “but don’t run too far because we don’t know where the next one is.”

“Right.” She sucked in another breath, desperately trying to calm her nerves.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she prepared to beat the swinging axe.

CHAPTER 28

“Wait a second,” Paige said, waving her hands in the air and straightening. “Maybe we should try to disable this thing.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Dewey questioned.

“I don’t know. We could block it somehow or disable the sensor.”

“Block it with what? An industrial-strength cover? Come on. There are probably more of them. We can’t block them all.”

“Fine,” Paige said, crouching into her lunge position again. “Ready or not, here I come.”

She sprang forward, pushing her legs to sprint as fast as possible and racing past the opening in the wall. The axe swung loose as her second foot flung out behind her. She cleared it by millimeters, stopping short and doubling over while she gasped for breath.

“I really hope there aren’t more of those.”

“Look on the bright side,” Dewey said, patting her back. “You’re fast enough to beat them.”

Paige shot an annoyed glance at Dewey before she straightened. They retrieved the carrier containing the pixie assassin and continued down the hall.

The axe traps existed at every set of columns.

By the time they reached the end of the corridor, they had successfully made it through five of the traps.

Paige leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from her brow. “I really hope the next one is easier than this.”

Dewey shined his light at the doorway leading to a new space. “We’re about to find out.”

“I hope you get chopped in half the second you walk into that room,” the assassin snarked.

“You’re really annoying, you know that?” Paige said as she approached the door.